“My house is empty tonight. Everyone’s still in Raleigh. Come over.”
He watched the play of emotions on her face: excitement, wariness, worry, and finally, as she raised her eyes to his, determination.
She nodded. “Okay. Just for a little while. Then I have to head home.”
Some insane part of him, accustomed to looser, more modern girls, had actually fantasized that they’d figure out a way for her to spend the whole night, but instead of being disappointed, he found himself profoundly grateful that she was willing to come over to his house at all.
He beamed at her, “Damn, you make me happy.”
She giggled, plucking a rag from under the bar and running it along the shiny wood of the bar. “You make me happy too.”
“Laire!” Erik looked up to see the bartender walking back. “Ms. Sebastian says you can go. She’ll finish up tonight.”
“Really? Great!” she said, bunching her shoulders together and grinning at Erik.
“Meet me at my car,” he mumbled, leaving a twenty under his half-finished beer and heading quickly for the exit.
***
Laire ran back to her locker to grab her purse and check her face, her heart racing with excitement. She’d never been inside Erik’s house, so she was excited to see it up close, but more than anything, she was desperate to have him all to herself. It would be a short ride to his house, which meant they’d have over an hour together before he had to drive her back to the Pamlico House dock. Grinning at herself in the break room mirror, she gasped when she saw Ms. Sebastian’s face join hers.
“You startled me!” she exclaimed, pressing a hand to her heart as she turned around to face her boss.
“Last week, when he didn’t show, I was worried and relieved at the same time,” Ms. Sebastian said. “And tonight, when he showed up, I was worried and relieved again.”
“You don’t need to worry, Ms. Sebastian,” said Laire. “He’s good to me.”
The older woman nodded. “I can see he’s very smitten, but, Laire, how does this work? Where does it go from here?”
“Anywhere we want it to,” she said softly, though her voice lacked conviction.
“So your father will be okay with you datin’ a dingbatter? And his father? The governor? He’ll be delighted with his Duke University son datin’ a fisherman’s daughter?”
“He’s not just a dingbatter, and I’m not just an islander,” she protested, taking a step away from Ms. Sebastian, and crossing her arms. “There’s more to us.”
“Of course there is,” said Ms. Sebastian, her face concerned, her eyes soft. “But he’s got a handful of weeks before he heads back to school, Laire. And then what? Where does that leave you?”
To be honest, Laire hadn’t thought that far into the future. It hadn’t even occurred to her that Erik would be leaving one day soon, and not just for four or five days, but for much longer. She winced, her heart hurting as she processed what Ms. Sebastian was saying.
As though she realized the pain her words were causing, the older woman reached out and placed her hand gently on Laire’s shoulder. “I’m just worried about you, honey. Tread softly. Be careful.”
Laire swallowed, looking up at Ms. Sebastian and nodding.
“He’s waitin’ for you,” she said, giving Laire a small smile before dropping her hand and heading back to the kitchen.
Chapter 11
On the ride to his house, Laire didn’t say much, staring out her side of the car. Her mood had changed between leaving the bar and joining him in the parking lot, though he had no idea why. When she got in the car, she smiled at him but didn’t lean over the bolster to kiss him as he’d expected. She seemed less excited and more contemplative too.
Hmm. Maybe it’s just nerves about being alone together.
Last Sunday, even though they’d managed to find a private moment during the rainstorm at the gardens, they’d actually been in public the entire time. Maybe she wasn’t entirely comfortable going to his empty house with him.
“Laire,” he said, looking up at the sign that welcomed them to Buxton as they zoomed past, “I’d never pressure you to do somethin’ you didn’t want to do. You know that, right?”
“Of course,” she said, turning to look at him, her eyes wide and trusting.
Hmm. Maybe she’s worried about getting caught.
“I promise my family isn’t there. They’re all in Raleigh.”
“Yes. That’s what you said.”
Huh. What’s going on with her?
“I missed you somethin’ awful, darlin’.”
“I missed you too.”
“I’m not plannin’ to leave again,” he said quickly.
“What do you mean by that?”
“I mean I’m stayin’ put, here on the Banks, until the end of the summer.”
“Oh,” she murmured, her shoulders slumping as she turned away from him.